Characterization of Fe/Cr multilayers by analytical transmission electron microscopy

Different techniques of analytical TEM were used to investigate Fe/Cr multilayers. These multilayers show a dependence of their electrical resistance as a function of the magnetic field. This effect called giant magnetoresistance can be utilized for example in magnetic recording heads. Typical dimensions of the single layer thickness are in the nanometer region. Therefore the microstructure of this material has been investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). To get additional analytical information energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) can be used.